Birth Records - Order online or call (815) 334-4510 for more information.

• Ordering a Certified Copy
• Making a Correction
• Establishing Paternity
• FAQs (IDPH)

Death Records - Order online or call (815) 334-4510 for more information.

• Ordering a Certified Copy
• Who is Entitled to a Death Record?
• FAQs (IDPH)
• County Statistics
• Rules & Regulations
  
  

Birth Records

Birth records can be ordered online or by mail [PDF].

Ordering a Certified Certificate
Birth records are not public records and only the following are entitled to receive a certified certificate:

• The person named on the record if 18 years or older.
• The parent(s) shown on the record.
• A legal guardian or legal representative of the child. Written evidence of guardianship or legal representation is required.

Birth records for births occurring in McHenry County after January 1, 2010, can be obtained from the Health Department.

Births records for births occurring in McHenry County prior to January 1, 2010, must be obtained from the McHenry County Clerk’s Office or can be ordered from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Division of Vital Records. 

Uncertified copies may be available for genealogical researchers and others on a restricted basis; please visit the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Genealogical Research section for more information.

The fee for certified records is $12 for the first copy and $4 for each additional certificate of the same record requested at the same time. The fee for genealogical (uncertified) records is $10 for the first copy and $2 for each additional certificate of the same record at the same time.

Making a Correction

Illinois law allows for corrections to birth records. In most cases, additional documentation and a State of Illinois affidavit and certificate of correction are required. Illinois law also directs that corrections to birth records be made with interlineation. This means a line is drawn through the information being corrected and the new information is placed above or beside.

More information about correcting a birth certificate is available on IDPH's website.

• Correct Birth Certificate 

Establishing Paternity 

If the biological parents of a child are not married, are both available to sign forms and no other man is listed on the birth record, a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form is completed. This form is available from any county clerk, county health department, public aid office or it may be found at childsupportillinois.com. If the biological parents are not married and either parent is not available to sign forms, a court order of paternity is required. Contact your local court system for further details. 

If a court has determined who the biological father/co-parent of a child is and you have a Court Order of Paternity, submit the Affidavit and Certificate of Correction Request form (see FORMS in the right-hand column) and a certified copy of the court order of paternity. You can obtain a certified copy from the circuit clerk's office. The court order will not be returned to you; it becomes part of the sealed file.

You also will need to include the following:

• The father/co-parent's full name
• The father/co-parent's date of birth
• The father/co-parent's place of birth (state or country if other than the United States)
• The father/co-parent's Social Security number
• A copy of the valid/non-expired government issued photo IDs of both mother/co-parent and father/co-parent

NOTE: A copy of DNA results are not acceptable as proof of paternity.

Frequently Asked Questions (from IDPH)

• Birth Records
  
  
  

Death Records

Death records can be ordered online or by mail [PDF].

Ordering a Certified Certificate

Death records are not public records and are only available to those who have a personal or property right interest with the decedent. If you are not a relative of the deceased person, a letter or document from the office or agency that needs the death certificate must accompany the request.

Death records for deaths occurring in McHenry County after January 1, 2009, can be obtained from MCDH.

Deaths records for deaths occurring in McHenry County prior to January 1, 2009, can be obtained from the McHenry County Clerk's Office or can be ordered from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Division of Vital Records. 

When ordering the death record, you will need to provide the following information:

The fee for this record is $16 and $8 for each additional certificate of the same record requested at the same time.

Who is Entitled to a Death Record?

Death records are not public records. They are only available to those who have a personal or property right interest with the decedent. If you are not a relative of the deceased person, a letter or document from the office or agency that needs the death certificate must accompany the request. An uncertified copy of a death record is available to genealogical researchers if the death occurred at least 20 years prior to the date of the request.

Frequently Asked Questions (from IDPH)

• Death Records
  County Statistics (provided by IDPH)

Rules & Regulations